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Welcome back to Back to Business Week! This week is built around the idea that our kids are back to school and it’s time for us to get back into the swing of things. To do this, I’m walking you through the HEART Goals acronym. The whole philosophy behind HEART Goals is to help you prioritize your task list so that you can live a balanced life while you achieve your dreams.

As a recap, here are the five components of HEART acronym. These are also our core human needs:

In this morning’s live coaching session, we talked all about about the ‘A’ in HEART: all your people. We discussed toxic relationships, setting boundaries and how to intentionally create meaningful relationships. We covered these key questions as I challenged the community to think about all their people:

How do I identify toxic relationships?

How do I eliminate toxic relationships?

How do I set boundaries, both physical and emotional boundaries?

How do I find more sharp people aka healthy relationships that will empower me to be the best version of myself?

How many meaningful relationships do I have time for and how do I maintain those meaningful relationships?

Toxic behavior and toxic relationships have become buzz words, but we do need to acknowledge the negative people and relationships we have in our lives and create distance between ourselves, those people, and their behavior. Once we’ve identified toxic relationships, we can’t try to fix it. Cause and effect don’t matter, it’s all about creating distance.

Once you’ve identified toxic behavior it’s time to set boundaries. None of us like to say no, but the truth is that people respect boundaries. We’re actually hard-wired to respond to boundaries. So learn how and when you need to set boundaries and it will get easier. I have four important tips on how to set those boundaries:

Be assertive. You have a right to state your needs without being made to feel guilty. If you don’t state those needs, people won’t know a boundary is there.

Learn to say no. The first time you do this, it will be hard. It will get easier.

Don’t be afraid to safeguard your physical and mental spaces. It’s important to set technology boundaries as well.

Get assistance or support. Talk to a therapist, coworker or friend. Talking it through helps us re-calibrate our boundaries and provides a bit of accountability.

There are toxic relationships and there are boundaries that we can set in order to have meaning relationships. If we practice healthy relationships it will, in turn, make us mentally and physically healthy.

I cover all this and much much more in today’s live coaching session, all about your people! The live recording will only be available for free until Thursday, August 29 at 10 a.m. CT when I go live with my next session. Tomorrow I’ll be covering the ‘R’ in our HEART Goals acronym: your resources and responsibilities. I hope you’ll join me live at 10 a.m. CT every day for Back to Business Week!

This week is Back to Business week for my team and my online tribe! We’re working through the HEART acronym to get our actions back in alignment with our needs, and in turn, our goals, as we enter the fall season. Are you following along? Did you catch this morning’s live coaching session?

As I mentioned yesterday, we all want the same basic things in life. We want a healthy body, a healthy mind, meaningful relationships, money to go where we want and do what we please, and purposeful work. Those five buckets make up the HEART acronym.

When you prioritize these five buckets in the right order, when you align your needs with your actions, you can find balance. And that is what Back to Business Week is all about! We started the week by talking about our physical bodies and the four aspects of a healthy physical system, including sleep, water, nutrition, and movement.

A key takeaway from the first part of the HEART acronym is this: our bodies are formulas. You have to get to know your own body and figure out what works for you. For me to be in peak shape, I need to limit my gluten and alcohol intake. Not sure what your body needs? Start paying attention to what you’re putting in your body and note how it makes you feel. Armed with that information, you can easily start to make better choices. I’m not advocating for extremism; I am advocating for getting to know your body so that you can easily reset your energy level.

In today’s live coaching session, we moved into the second part of the HEART acronym: “E,” which stands for empowering yourself. This category is all about mental, emotional and spiritual health. I challenged everyone on this morning’s coaching session to think of one thing they could do for their heart, mind, and soul today. Check out a few of our ideas below.

What is one thing you can do today to get in touch with your emotions?

Stop and ask yourself “what am I feeling?” at this moment

Journaling or writing

Find a therapist, spiritual director or bible study to support you

Set healthy boundaries

What is one thing you can do today to sharpen your mind?

Read a page in a book

Watch a TED talk

Participate in an online course

Research a conference that you’d like to attend

What is one thing you can do today to nurture your soul?

Find time for solitude and silence

Slow down for 5 minutes

Name 3 things you are grateful for

Show gratitude to others

Give yourself grace

This is how we find balance, by doing little things each and every day. Trust me, they all add up!

I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about relationships. I hope you’ll join me live at 10 a.m. CT every day for Back to Business Week!

Are you feeling the relief? The unbridled joy that comes from having your kids back in school again, being in a routine again, looking forward to pumpkin spice lattes again?

ME TOO. Over the moon DELIGHTED, in fact.

And yet, every year around this time I struggle with getting back into a groove as a working mama. It takes intentional work because balance takes intentional work.

I spent the summer focused on my family. We traveled to Colorado and Missouri, swam in pools and lakes, played at the park and in living room forts. We took trips to the library, to see grandparents and to get ice cream. We made the most cherished memories this summer and that is exactly what we wanted for our family.

But a summer of fun with those I love means the pendulum has to swing back to taking care of myself and my business this fall.

Balance does not mean equal. Balance is not when everything is equal, balance is when everything is running smoothly.

So how do I go from summer to fall, from one focus to another and get back to business? By using the HEART acronym as a checklist that re-aligns my needs with my actions. As you may know, I created HEART Goals as a way to set balanced goals. It is also the method by which I reset my days, weeks, months and yes, even seasons.

I believe what we all want in life can be distilled down into five categories. We all want a healthy body, a healthy mind, meaningful relationships, money to go where we want and do what we please, and purposeful work. Those five categories are HEART.

When you prioritize these five buckets in the right order, when you align your needs with your actions, you can find balance.

This is Back to Business Week for me and my tribe! I am hosting free live coaching sessions every morning this week. We’re talking about how to prioritize your needs (those five buckets!), ways to reset your days when they feel out of whack, and how the HEART method can transform your life.

This morning I shared how I’m starting the process of getting back to business by focusing on my physical health and routine. You can catch the replay of this morning’s live coaching session here. Join me tomorrow as we talk about ways to care for your heart, mind, and soul. I hope you’ll join me live so we can chat directly at 10 a.m CT on Tuesday, August 27!

Summer is rapidly coming to a close for our family and we’re getting ready for our kids to head back to school! Who else can’t wait?!

I created our Summer with Kids series because I wanted to be intentional about planning our summer. As a business owner and mama, I knew work couldn’t stop just because my kids were out of school. My husband and I wanted them to have a wonderful summer but we still have to get things done! I got creative with ways to keep my kids occupied and set a structure for our days that kept this mama and my sweet kids sane (for the most part).

This is your end of summer 2019 checklist, full of ways to enjoy the last days of summer while preparing for back to school! Even more importantly, following this checklist will help you prepare for your next summer with kids. Doing these five simple things will put you in a great spot when next May rolls around. Trust me, your future self with thank you!

Finish up your summer activity binder!
Now is the time to pull together all the resources, printables, schedules and tools that helped you have a great summer. This is your spot to store all the work you’ve put into creating a fun and memorable summer for your kids. I created my Summer Activity Binder to be something we can pull out year after year, and continue to reuse

Prep for next year by making a list.
Make a list of all the things you did this summer that you needed to prepare for: summer camps, vacation bible study, babysitter bookings, trips to see family or vacations, back to school shopping and release forms, anything and everything you need to do to have a smooth summer. This list will be easier to pull together now while it’s fresh in your mind. Next spring, when it comes time to register the kids for camps or arrange for summer childcare, you’ll have a full list of tasks ready to go.

Keep the fun going with the activities and structure that worked well for your family.
The long summer days will soon give way to busy school days. Note anything that worked particularly well for your family and incorporate those activities into your school year routine. We’re going to keep up our reading log and hope to spend lots more time in the kitchen with the kids.

Have a conversation with your kids using the Back to School Interview printable! For $5 you can use the printable to ask your kids questions every year before school starts. You’ll create cherished memories and have a collection of amazing snapshots of your kids throughout the years!

Celebrate the end of summer!
You made it, now it’s time to celebrate! Bake a cake with the kids, have a movie night or celebrate with an ice cream party. There are still a few more cherished memories to make this summer!

What else is on your end of summer 2019 to-do list?

This is our final post in our Summer with Kids Series. We have loved sharing our best tips, tricks, recipes, and activities for a full and memorable summer. Thanks for following along!